Each week for the rest of the season I'm going to track Alabama and UAB's chances to reach the NCAA Tournament. Both teams can still win their league title. And both teams can still be left out on March 13. It's a soft, soft bubble this year. All RPI numbers come from warrennolan.com. This could be a fascinating test case on the RPI, which in my opinion is losing relevance and gets used too much by the NCAA selection committee.

Ratings from Jeff Sagarin and Ken Pomeroy seem to be a better indicator of which teams can play. In particular, Pomeroy provides interesting statistics on offensive and defensive efficiency. In Sagarin, UAB is No. 51 and Alabama is No. 63. In Pomeroy, Alabama is No. 39 and UAB is No. 55. In the RPI, UAB is No. 31 and Alabama is No. 89. It's hard to believe UAB and Alabama are separated by that much. They're closer to equals than being separated by 58 spots on the RPI.

Remember what the RPI is and what it isn't. It factors in three components: winning percentage (25 percent), schedule strength (50 percent) and opponents' schedule strength (25 percent). The formula was changed in 2004 to give more weight to road wins than home wins. What RPI doesn't take into consideration is point differential (a 1-point win is the same as a 20-point win) or how a team won.

Of course, a key component is how the committee uses the RPI and under what circumstances. A constant complaint is the committee inconsistently uses the RPI to justify why teams are or are not left out.

How important is the RPI? Last year, Collegiate Basketball News did a study demonstrating that. Between 1991 and 2009, 99.3 percent of the top 30 RPI teams had been invited as an at-large. The odds dropped after that: 31 through 40 were 82.9 percent; 41 through 50 were 55.1 percent; and 51 through 60 were 25.7 percent. Alabama fans: Now do you understand why the Crimson Tide sits on such a thin edge at No. 89?

Meanwhile, UAB did what it's supposed to do when it comes to non-conference schedules for a mid-major. The Blazers scheduled tough and went on the road. Is it fair for UAB to always have to travel? Of course not. That's how the system is set up, though. UAB's holes are a 1-4 record vs. UTEP, Memphis, Tulsa and Southern Miss, and no top-50 RPI wins.

Having said all of that, this is such a soft bubble this year that teams who don't make the NCAA Tournament have no one to blame but themselves for not getting in. UAB and Alabama have the chance to make statements this week.

The stats:

Alabama is 19-9 overall, 11-3 in SEC, No. 89 RPI, No. 139 Strength of Schedule. The Crimson Tide is 2-2 against the top 50 in the RPI and 3-5 against the top 100.

Alabama barely defeated Auburn and lost at Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide can win the SEC regular-season title this week, when they play Florida and Georgia.

UAB beat Houston. The Blazers moved into first place in C-USA by themselves after Southern Miss and Memphis lost and can clinch its first outright C-USA regular-season title with two wins.

Up next:

Alabama plays Tuesday at Florida (RPI: 12) and is home Saturday against Georgia (36). Short of winning the SEC Tournament, the Crimson Tide probably needs at least one win this week, if not both.

UAB plays Wednesday at Southern Miss (41) and Saturday at home against East Carolina (121). Given C-USA's reputation and UAB's lack of top-50 wins, the Southern Miss game becomes a must-win, plus the Blazers obviously can't afford to lose to East Carolina.

Other bubble teams to watch:

These are some teams competing with Alabama and UAB for at-large spots.

Joe Lundardi of ESPN.com has Alabama as an 11 seed in a play-in game vs. 11 seed Richmond and UAB as a 12 seed vs. Vanderbilt. (Lunardi has only one C-USA team, so he is basing UAB's inclusion on winning the C-USA Tournament.) Andy Glockner of SI.com has Alabama in the last four out and has UAB as a 12 seed vs. Kentucky. (That's the only C-USA team Glockner has in the field.) Warrennolan.com doesn't have Alabama on bracket or in last four out and has UAB as a 12 seed against Vanderbilt. (Nolan has three C-USA teams in the field.)

My call:

Too close to call right now, largely because this week is so important. Alabama's loss to Ole Miss was a blemish. No eligible SEC team has ever gone at least 11-5 in the conference and not made the NCAA Tournament. Alabama is 11-3, but clearly needs more wins to be in. Alabama could secure a bid by sweeping Florida and Georgia this week. Anything less, and the SEC Tournament results figure to come into play.

No outright C-USA regular-season champion -- which UAB has a chance to be -- has ever failed to make the NCAA Tournament. But most of those instances involved the same team also winning the C-USA Tournament or being in the league when it was more dominant nationally. UTEP went 15-1 in C-USA last season, lost in the C-USA Tournament and got in the NCAA field as a 12 seed.

UAB probably can't secure an at-large bid this week; it can probably only lose a bid if it falls to Southern Miss or East Carolina. No matter what happens this week, UAB will likely need to do more in the C-USA Tournament, whether it's reaching the finals or winning the entire tournament in El Paso.

Two things to remember about this conversation:

1) It's foolish to view your favorite team in, for lack of a better word, a bubble. Your favorite team is not alone in vying for these bids. It's extremely difficult to definitively say all Alabama or UAB has to do is win X number of remaining games. That's why I try to couch my statements about scenarios. They're competing against a changing landscape with other teams around the country who have the chance to help and hurt themselves in the next two weeks. Which brings us to ....

2) Change is inevitable from these mock brackets. Some team or teams currently believed to be out of the NCAA Tournament inevitably will win its conference tournament or make a deep run. That could potentially change how we view Alabama, UAB and other bubble teams.